On Nov. 22 2022, the Netflix series Wednesday directed by Tim Burton, made its much anticipated debut. Wednesday is a clever spin off of the Adams Family with a few twists that have revived the classic. 

The series dives deep into Wednesday’s (Jenna Ortega) true character focusing on her intelligence, sarcastic humor, and emotionless disposition. 

The show begins at a high school where Wednesday Addams finds her brother, Pugsly, crammed in a locker. After this incident, Wednesday avenges her brother ultimately ending in her expulsion. As a result, Wednesday’s parents, Gomez (Luiz Gúzman) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), decide to enroll her in Evermore Academy, a boarding school for the supernatural. 

After arriving at the school, Wednesday is given a roommate named Enid, (Emma Meyers) a werewolf, who is the exact opposite of her, sunny and warm. Despite this, The two have amazing chemistry together on screen, complement each other very well, and are hilarious to watch.  

Meanwhile, Nevermore has gotten notice that a hiker has been murdered due to an animal attack. Believing it’s a murderous monster, Wednesday is determined to find the killer. When the sheriff won’t take her seriously, she decides to take the investigation into her own hands. 

While on her search for the truth, Wednesday befriends a boy named Tyler (Hunter Doohan) who happens to be the sheriff’s son. The audience roots for this relationship because throughout the series, Tyler chips away at Wednesday’s cold exterior and shows her feelings. 

The most heartbreaking moment in the season is when Wednesday finally finds the monster behind the murders that have been terrorizing her local town: Tyler. It is a shocking turn of events that really turns the plot on its side. 

Despite this revelation, Wednesday puts her feelings aside once again and captures Tyler with the help of Enid and some of her other friends at Evermore. The last scene ends on a cliffhanger, with Tyler escaping from detainment.

The success of the series was record-breaking as Wednesday became the second most streamed series of all time. It was not only the intriguing plot that made Wednesday so successful, but also the casting. Viewers seemed to love the way Jenna Ortega was able to play Wednesday’s character and the connection between her and the other actors.  

One of the things that made Oretga’s acting performance so unique was that she was able to make Wednesday her own while paying tribute to previous Wednesday characters from the past. 

In episode four of the show, Ortega was featured in a dancing scene that she choreographed herself and that later went viral on TikTok. Ortega created the dance by watching children from the 80s dance to goth music and mixed in movements from previous actors who played Wednesday. She was able to generate something that perfectly encapsulated Wednesday’s nature while also bringing attention to the original Wednesday Addams. 

Additionally, the technical choices made by Burton put Wednesday on another level from the usual Netflix originals. During one scene, Burt noticed that Ortega had not blinked through the take. He thought this added to the dark theme that revolved around Wednesday’s character, so he told her not to blink in the scenes moving forward. 

Burton’s decision of colors was brilliant as well and added a whole new dimension to the series. The way everything was colorful and vibrant while Wednesday was colorless made her stick out and emphasized how she saw the world in a darker way than other characters in the show. 

The storyline, the casting, Ortega’s unique take on Wednesday, and Burts directing turned the series into a cinematic masterpiece and left viewers wanting more. Wednesday has already been renewed for a second season less than two months after its initial debut.